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6.8 Gallon Imagitarium rimless aquarium


Dawn T
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Getting this tank has been interesting, since I had it shipped. It arrived with a shattered LID. I called to see if I could get a replacement lid, and they said they don't have "parts", so they sent me an entire new unit. Told me to either throw away or donate the first tank, rather than ship it back. Throw away a perfectly good tank? I don't think so! Who in their right mind would do that?!?

Today, the replacement arrived. Suspicious rattling in the box. Oh, no.... Thankfully, the lid was fully intact. The tank, however, has a broken corner in the back panel. So between the 2 shipments, I have an intact TOTAL unit. Go figure, and REALLY glad I kept the original tank. For now, I've put the damaged tank into storage. Maybe find a use for it down the road. Not sure I can replace that back panel, but who knows.

Here's the damage it has:

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This particular tank kit has an internal sump type of filtration, which I do like. There are water intake slits both high up on the back panel AND low down, so I had to be creative with the substrate and lava rock to keep the lower ones from getting blocked.

I changed out the powerhead first thing. The one that came with it, I know through experience WILL clog with baby snails CONSTANTLY since it has tiny slits that intake water. Baby snails fill those slits in no time. The powerhead I changed to doesn't have that issue, though it did require some creative plumbing, since what comes with the tank wasn't quite the right size for the powerhead. I got that taken care of though. Other than the powerhead, I only made one other change - swapped the carbon/filter cartridge for a better material. The other elements of the filter should work nicely as they are.

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The cartridge in the center of the above shot holds small bioballs, so I'm using that. The sponge filter on the left side is in a triangular compartment in both sides of the filter. Water comes in both sides. Color me thrilled, too, that there's room around the lid for me include emergent plants! I'm not sure which ones I'm going to use yet. I have a bunch in the house to choose from.

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The white is what I replaced the carbon cartridge with. I made it wider than the compartment so it lodges in there nicely.

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The tank still isn't on its permanent base, but I got the extra mat cut. This tank came with a thin mat already attached to the bottom, but I like a thicker mat, so I added to it.

I've got the substrate and hardscape in place. Red lava rock, mopani driftwood, and silica sand.

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I've superglued the mopani in place. What will actually be under the tank (instead of the wire shelf) is currently drying. I spray painted it black to waterproof it, so the tank is sitting temporarily on a wire shelf. No water will go into it until it's on a solid surface.

I have a few plants to choose from but haven't decided which of them I'll use. Anubias nana 'petite' will definitely go in there, attached to the mopani. I have a gorgeous one that will look nice in there, I think. Other possibilities are: dwarf Sag, Valisneria, Bacopa caroliniana, pearl weed (which stays small and doesn't grow like crazy in my tanks), Crypt wendtii (green & bronze), and Hygrophila siamensis 53B. I definitely will NOT be using Pogostemon stellatus 'octopus' in there. I have a hard time keeping up with that in a 29g tank. Don't even want to think about managing it in a 6.8! LOL

For filter seeding, I have an HOB that needs sponges squeezed out and been putting that off until this tank is set up. I'll squeeze those out well directly into the tank once it's complete to get the nitrate cycle going strong.

Fish - I'm going to put 2 gold honey gouramis in there that I just pulled from my 29g today (those Endler girls were beating them up). Those are temporarily being housed in the 5g ember tetra tank along with the other 2 honey gouramis. They definitely won't be staying in there long-term, but I had to rescue them from those Endler's (those girls really are jerks!). They're still really small, so they're fine in that 5g for now. That tank is extremely stable and stays right at 0 ppm for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.

Thinking MAYBE a school of chili rasboras for this tank, but still thinking on it. I've never had them before, and they seem like a pretty little, peaceful fish. Any other suggestions? My conditions are:

1 - MUST be compatible with my water - stays right around 7.2-7.4 pH, 300 ppm GH, and 180 ppm KH in my tanks. I don't want to end up having to chase pH and such for fish with special needs;

2 - NO fish that require live or frozen food. I don't have access to frozen food where I live, and I don't have any means right now to hatch brine shrimp (no place to set up a hatchery) or otherwise raise live foods;

3 - Must be peaceful and compatible with honey gouramis, so no fish that need a species tank.

I'll post more photos as soon as I add the plants. Will be a few days most likely.

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IT LOOKS AMAZING!!!!

Here's a tip for the tank if you want it. I got one used and it was bothering me so I decided to go through with it. The filtration did not seem to be up to my standards as water was getting sucked in from the bottom rather than the top, leaving stagnant water in the back. I do not know if that is because I got it used or not, but I do know that the black back piece can be removed with some elbow grease. Some people online used a Dremel to carefully remove bits, I took two pairs of pliers and slowly made tiny cracks in the plastic, removing around a cm of plastic each time. Then used a different filter. So just know that in time you want to change it, you definitely can. 

Let me know if you want some finer details/ images 🙂

Again, great looking scape, can't wait to see it complete. 

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Since I used a different powerhead, I had parts left over from their original filter plumbing design. I used it to modify the output, bringing it more to the surface. We'll see how that goes. I haven't been able to figure out why they have the output so low in the tank. Weird to have it mid-water instead of near the surface. Mine's now near what will be the surface. Shouldn't be any stagnant spots now, plus I don't have to worry about plants blocking the flow from the output.

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BTW, I compared the glass used for this tank with my Marineland Portrait rimless 5g aquarium. Definitely not as thick, for either the tank nor the lid. Found that interesting since they're in the roughly same price bracket. So, not only does Marineland package their nano tanks better to avoid breakage, I think the thicker glass probably helps avoid breakage in shipping.

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Major delay in planting due to an unexpected health issue. Grrr.

In the meantime, I put a couple gallons of water into the tank, enough to cover the larger piece of mopani. Might as well give it a chance to water-log while the tank awaits plants. Overnight, tannins went crazy, of course. I expected this since neither piece of mopani has ever been used. The left end of the centerpiece is superglued to a couple of lava rocks, but the right side isn't anchored. Needless to say, it floated. At least I'll know it's pretty well waterlogged when that end rests on the substrate, so mindless indicator. LOL

I see my doctor tomorrow, so hopefully she'll figure out what's going on and help me correct it. I WANT to get back to my normal activities, including planting this little tank! Need brain function for that! Right now, I have mud for brains.

 

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Took a few days, but the driftwood finally sank. Timing was perfect as my energy is finally, slowly coming back after an attack of health issues. Took 2 days, but I got the tank planted and operational. Once I had it all set up, I squeezed a sponge out of the filter of an established tank into this tank. Of course, that make it look nice and pretty. LOL

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Took about 24 hours for it to totally clear up. The good side of doing it this way? All the debris floating around in there gave me a chance to truly evaluate the directional flow of the filter output, efficiency of the inputs, and if there were any dead spots that could be problematic later. I adjusted the filter output angle and direction until the flow suited me. Here's a photo showing the filter output. Shows the modifications I made to it.

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Here's the final result after the tank completely cleared and the filter output was fully adjusted.

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Attached to both pieces of driftwood, I used Anubias nana 'petite'. Planted in the substrate are pearl weed (left), val (rear left), Bacopa caroliniana (rear center-to-right), and dwarf sag (foreground center and right). The bacopa hasn't quite relaxed and settled yet. It was free-floating in another tank temporarily, so it's completely warped. It'll straighten out, though, so I'm not worried.

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Of course, I had to use emergent plants, too, because... well, it's me. LOL For now, there's Syngonium, pothos, and 2 varieties of wandering Jew trimmings. I also have an aglaonema (red variety) that will go in once it roots. It'll add a splash of color above the water line.

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Edited by Dawn T
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  • 2 weeks later...

Added some Hygrophila difformis and Cryptocoryne parva 'mini' for a bit more texture and to fill things in a bit more. Also, added some Salvinia minima for floaters. The potted Bolbitis in the back left corner is temporary. I wanted to try Bolbitis, since I've never had it before, and I just dropped it in there to see how it does before I make a decision about where I want it placed more permanently. Not sure if it'll stay in this tank or go into one of my others.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Decided to put the Bolbitis in this tank, at least semi-permanently. So out of its pot it came, and I split it up so part of it went into each side of the tank. I had to trim and replant cuttings for the Hygrophila. It's taking off really nicely. I also added a couple more Vallisneria in the left side to fill that in a bit more. Got the emergent plants filled in, too, and they seem to be loving it.

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I received a school of 10 chili rasboras for this tank yesterday (the photo is from a couple of days ago, so no fish were in there yet). Unfortunately, they have ich. Not sure if it's infectious ich or stress ich, but I'm treating it as the infectious form for now. Other than the ich, they all seem to be in good condition. Eating like little piglets. I've never had this species before, but I'm already enjoying their activity level and personalities. They're not fearful at all.

 

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Got photos this morning. So far, so good. Still treating for ich, of course. No deaths as of yet (hopefully there won't be ANY), though counting 10 of those teeny weeny fish in a planted tank is an adventure. 😁 The chilis are eating well.

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Taking photos of active little fish is more than a bit challenging, but I got one that's sort of clear. Maybe. A bit. Not really. LOL But you can still make out the white spots on the 2 in the pic. The color on the one is great, though. They've colored up beautifully. Now, if we can just get the ich eradicated.

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Amazing to me how HUGE this tank looks with those itty bitty guys in there.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ich appears to be gone! I'm watching in case it pops back up again, but so far so good. NO losses! All 10 are active and eating well. They're color is so beautiful. I love watching them. I've added a few neocaridina shrimp - 5 blues, 1 jade. They've been happily picking away at things.

Today's photos:

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Interestingly, the pearl weed is doing GREAT in this setup and growing like the weed I've always heard it accused of being. It stays really short in my other tanks and does more of a carpeting type of growth. In this tank, as you can see above, it's growing tall. Better lighting for it, I think, since this tank isn't as deep as the others I have that plant in.

Also, the dwarf sag is spreading! I put 2 plants in there, and a third has appeared. The one in the middle is new! This is another plant that I've found stays smaller and grows way slower in my deeper tanks but is growing faster and taller in this shallower tank.

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The chilis have figured out what the feeding ring is for. They head for it if they see me moving around near the tank. Not shy in the least. I love their outgoing nature and activity, but man, are they TEENY!

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I realized while inspecting them one day for ich spots that one of them is actually missing an eye. Poor little guy. The others don't seem to pick at him or anything, though, so hopefully he'll be okay.

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Oh, and the emergent plants on this tank are also doing well. They've gotten themselves established, and I'm starting to see new growth.

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I have to fertilize this tank regularly. The ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate maintain at 0 otherwise, so all those plants are doing a great job of keeping the water clean.

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  • 1 month later...

Doh, it suddenly occurred to me the other day that I said in my last update that the "dwarf sag" was growing a spreading. NO. No dwarf sag in this tank. That's in my little Ember tank. THIS tank, I put in pygmy chain sword. The first time I've used it. It's definitely doing great. Chilis are continuing to do great, though one disappeared and I've never found it. The others have grown and are in great shape. Also, I've been seeing berried shrimp in this tank - a blue and the single jade I put in. Looking forward to seeing shrimplets!

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